Peace in a Zoo
by jekkah
Summary: A car accident brings about changes in Hotch and JJ's relationship, but will either of them survive long enough for it to make a difference? Written for the CCOAC Death Fic Challenge. *obvious warning for character death*


_Author's Note: This was written for the CCOAC Death Fic Challenge. My assigned character was Aaron Hotchner so yep, I had to go and kill Hotch. Forgive me!_

_Special thanks to **Kricket Williams** for the injury ideas! I still had no confidence in writing them well so I skimmed over the acute pneumothorax with cardiac tamponade and just used the symptoms instead. Thanks to **nebula2** for catching "coffee fit." This is what happens when you read Janeway/Chakotay fics while trying to finish your challenge piece._

**PEACE IN A ZOO**

"JJ!" Hotch gasped as consciousness hit suddenly. He opened his eyes to find the SUV up against a tree. Hotch closed his eyes, trying to get his bearings. His chest hurt as well as his head. He was pretty sure that he broke his leg and cracked a few ribs.

He had been driving. Why was he driving? He was coming back from the police station. Where was he going? He was going to the hotel to pack up before heading home. The case… The case! The case was solved. They were on their way back to the hotel.

They? Hotch froze. They. Yes, he was travelling with… JJ! Hotch opened his eyes and looked to his right. Crumbled against the door was the blond profiler. She was bleeding profusely from a wound to her head and her wrist was bent at an unnatural position.

"JJ," Hotch moaned, his breathing slightly heavy. "JJ! Agent Jareau, answer me right now!"

"Hotch," she hissed slowly. She struggled to open her eyes. "Stay in bed with me a little longer."

Hotch sucked in a quick breath, not sure where that had come from. "JJ, please, wake up."

She stirred when he touch her shoulder. "Hotch? What happened?"

"I- I'm not sure." He grimaced as he forced himself to shift closer to her. "I remember driving and coming around a bend-"

"A deer," she supplied, her eyes falling shut once again. "You swerved to miss a deer."

"Hey!" Hotch shouted, causing a slight coughing fit. He shook JJ's shoulder as hard as he dared. "JJ! You have to stay awake. JJ, please."

JJ's eyes rolled opened, giving him a meek smile. "I'm so tired, Hotch."

He brushed the hair away from the wound on her head. "I know you are." He searched through the broken glass for some sort of cloth to stop the bleeding. Finding none, he ripped a piece of his shirt, biting his lip to stifle the pain. "JJ, I need you to shift this way. Can you do that?"

"I'm really very tired," she protested.

"I know, sweetheart," Hotch replied, sympathetically. "But you really need to stay awake and talk to me. I don't know how bad your head is."

JJ sucked in a deep breath as Hotch covered her wound. She snuggled into his chest. "You smell good, all Hotch-y and stuff."

Hotch chuckled. "I'm pretty sure that's the injury talking."

"'s not," she demurred, weakly. "Do you think someone's coming for us?"

"Phones!" he shouted. Hotch used his free hand to search his pockets. "Do you have your phone?"

JJ pulled her phone from her hip clip. She played with it briefly before throwing it to the floor. "It's broken. I must have hit it during the crash."

Hotch put his own phone down on the seat. "I don't have any bars and can't get a call through." He ran his hand over her arm, comfortingly. "The road is traveled enough that someone will come soon. If not, when we don't show up at the hotel soon, they'll come looking for us."

"I'm so tired. Can't I just sleep until they come?"

"No. I really need you to stay awake with me. Can you do that? Please?" Hotch knew he was pleading, but he was desperate to keep her with him. "Hey, do you remember when we took the boys to the zoo a few weeks ago? We never did make it to the tigers before the rain came."

JJ nodded. "I remember that the gorillas scared Henry and he wouldn't let you put him down. You were so nice to carry him around the rest of the zoo. It must have hurt your back."

Hotch smiled. "Truthfully? I was glad to do it. Jack's starting to be too cool for his old dad. It was nice to be someone's hero again."

"You're always my hero, Hotch," she told him. JJ paused for a moment. "Hotch, if- if something happens and I don't make it-"

"You're going to be fine, JJ."

She reached up to brush his cheek to calm the tremor in his voice. "I need to say this. If that happens, I need you to stay involved in Henry's life. I know he'll have Will and I know Will will speak kindly of me, but he's never really known me. He's only known this ideal version of me. You- you know me better than anyone. You'll tell Henry who I really was. Please, promise me."

Hotch grimaced. "I promise. But you have to make me the same promise about Jack."

"Deal." JJ slid her hand down and grabbed his. "You remember how Henry just cried and cried when it was time to leave the zoo? I didn't want to leave either. I wanted to stay with you and with Jack forever."

"That's pretty funny, actually." Hotch kissed the top of her head. "I didn't want to leave you and Henry either."

She squeezed his hand. "I'm really glad we've been spending a lot of time together lately. I really like seeing the lighter side of Aaron Hotchner."

He shifted to move her slightly off his chest, which was beginning to burn as if he had a bad cold. "I like that I've gotten to know you outside of work." He paused, waiting for her to respond. Fighting a rising panic, Hotch shook her. "JJ, I love you!"

"What?" she exclaimed, her eyes flying open.

"Some- somewhere along the last few months, I went and fell for you," he told her, honestly. "I love all the time that we've spent together, you, me, and the boys. I feel more at peace than I have in a long time and that's all thanks to you."

JJ licked her lips. "You aren't just saying that to keep me awake, are you?"

Hotch chortled as a white hot flash of pain rolled through his chest. He was beginning to have difficulty breathing, though he tried to hide it from her. "Definitely not. I just thought that it seemed like the perfect time to admit it."

"Nothing's going to happen to you either, Hotch," JJ said, growing somber. "You're going to be fine."

"Of course, I am," he assured her. He pulled his hand away to wipe his mouth, dismayed when he found blood. Hotch closed his eyes briefly, opening them again when he heard the faint sound of sirens. "JJ, I think help's coming."

She sat up straighter. "Everything's going to be okay." She turned her head to look at him. "For the record, I went and fell for you, too."

Hotch opened his mouth to reply, but was swallowed up by the scream of the arriving rescue vehicles. He insisted that they look over JJ first, covering up the trickle of blood that was now coming with nearly every breath. Hotch was aware that his breathing had become labored as he closed his eyes.

The next thing he was aware of was jostling as they removed him from the car. He could hear the paramedics shouting out words he didn't recognize, but they sounded distant. Hotch turned his head when JJ called out for him, but when he tried to answer her, it caused another coughing fit, much more massive this time. He closed his eyes again as a floating sensation overtook him. The voices around him faded away and a picture formed in his mind.

He was standing in front of the gorilla exhibit at the zoo, watching as the gorillas played. Hotch heard laughter behind him. He turned to see JJ standing there, her hair glowing in the sun. In front of her stood Jack and Henry, who both held their hands out for him.

"Come on, Daddy. We want to go see the tiger," Jack told him.

"Yeah, come on, Daddy," Henry repeated. "Tigers!"

JJ stepped forward and kissed him gently. "Everything okay?"

Hotch glanced at the family in front of him. "Everything is perfect."

"Come on, then." She held out her hand. "Let's go see the tigers."

Grinning widely, Hotch grabbed her hand, letting her pull him away. He felt all his previous worries and burdens fade away as he walked ever faster towards the bright light in front of him. He bathed in the love of his family.

Back at the hospital, the doctor called out, "Time of death: 17:54."

END

_A/N2: So, this isn't particularly sad because, well, I suck at it, but even still, it killed me to kill Hotch so I might end up writing a sequel..._


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